Saturday, October 31, 2015

Don Surber lists the tough questions from the CNBC crew.
Tough to stomach.There were some substantive questions, but this was not a debate. It was a catty joint interview in which the moderators made it about them, not the Republican candidates. Interruptions were often. Time was miserly. The moderators were political hacks. This was supposed to be about business, taxes and the economy. Instead this was a comic book version of a presidential debate.

I watched a bit of NBC Washington's Saturday morning news today.
At least two commercials hitting the potential tolls on I-66 hard.
Democrats aren't happy.
If they weren't the party of spend more and more, it wouldn't be so easy to hit them on this.

I'm watching two Canadian soccer teams in a play-off game of an American league on a Spanish language network with a Hispanic play-by-play announcer who has an Egyptian name. But it's not like I'll just watch ANY soccer game. No. Not addicted at all.

Friday, October 30, 2015

For those who waited until the last minute, Dustbury has some advice for buying Halloween candy.My candy-acquisition rule for Halloween is simple enough: get stuff I’ve heard of. Worst-case scenario: if the goblins peter out early, at least I’ll have something familiar to nosh on. (There’s a secondary rule, which says basically “Finish the year’s bloodwork before Halloween”; I trust this needs no explanation.)

Via WYFF (a South Carolina TV station known as Your Friend Four in the 1980s), news of students supporting the fired school officer at Spring Valley High School.Video and photos from the incident captured by students show many of them saying "Free Fields" or wearing T-shirts that say "#BringBackFields." Fields was fired by Sheriff Leon Lott earlier this week after video of the incident between him and a female student exploded on social media and sparked a nationwide discussion on school resource officers and use of force.
The officer knows who his friends are.

In the 1980s, Back to the Future II took us to 2015.
The 2015 World Series takes us back to the 1980s.
Kansas City, which won its only championship in 1985, faces the 1986 champion New York Mets for this year's crown. The Royals took the first two games of the series, outlasting the Mets in 14 innings in Tuesday's opener.
Fox has coverage of Games 3 and 4, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. as play heads to New York. Game 5, if necessary, will be Sunday at 5 p.m.
If necessary, the series returns to Kansas City Tuesday and Wednesday.
A pair of undefeated teams collide Sunday night on NBC with the Broncos taking on the Packers, and the Colts visit the Panthers on ESPN Monday night.
It's the third and final game this season from London Sunday, with the Lions and Chiefs meeting on Fox at 9:30 a.m. The Giants face the Saints at 1 p.m. before the Seahawks battle the Cowboys in the late afternoon contest.
CBS offers Chargers-Ravens at 1 p.m.
The college football weekend continues Friday with a doubleheader on ESPN2 Friday, with Louisville-Wake Forest at 7 p.m. followed by Wyoming against Utah State. FoxSports1 features Louisiana Tech and Rice at 8 p.m.
Syracuse heads to Florida State Saturday at noon on ABC, with either Clemson-North Carolina State or Maryland facing Iowa at 3:30 p.m. The game not shown on the air will be on ESPN2.
In primetime, Notre Dame takes on Temple.
CBS visits Jacksonville for Florida-Georgia at 3:30 p.m., while Fox offers Southern Cal against California at 3 p.m.
Virginia Tech takes on Boston College on the ACC network at 12:30 p.m. Virginia hosts Georgia Tech at 3 p.m. on Comcast.
ESPN starts its day at noon with Mississippi-Auburn, then Texas Tech takes on Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m. Minnesota meets Michigan at 7 p.m. and it's Stanford-Washington State at 10:30 p.m.
Penn State battles Illinois on ESPN2 at noon, and Vanderbilt heads to Houston at 7 p.m.
Kansas hosts Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. on FoxSports1. Texas battles Iowa State at 7 p.m. before Arizona and Washington close out the night at 11 p.m.
Elon meets Stony Brook on MASN at noon, followed by McNeese State-Abilene Christian. MASN2 has a pair of games from C-USA, as Old Dominion hosts Western Kentucky at noon and Marshall clashes with Charlotte at 3:30 p.m.
Harvard hosts Dartmouth on NBC Sports network Friday at 7 p.m. There's CAA action Saturday, with James Madison going to William & Mary at 4 p.m. before Maine meets Villanova.
It's down to the final four races of the NASCAR season, with Martinsville hosting the Sprint Cup this weekend. The green flag drops Sunday at 1:15 p.m., after qualifying Friday at 4 p.m. on Comcast and practice at 11 a.m. on NBC Sports network.
FoxSports1 has the Truck Series Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
NBA's Opening Week continues Friday, as ESPN offers the Heat and Cavaliers at 7 p.m. followed by the defending champion Warriors taking on the Rockets.Comcast has the Wizards' home opener with Knicks Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Capitals clash with Columbus Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
It's MLS playoff time, with a pair of games on ESPN Sunday at 3 and 5 p.m. and two more on FoxSports1 Sunday at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Chelsea battles Liverpool on NBC Sports network Saturday at 8:45 a.m., followed by Manchester United and Crystal Place at 11 a.m. Sunday at 8:30 a.m., Everton meets Sunderland.
NBC carries the Breeders Cup Saturday at 4 p.m. NBC Sports network has earlier action Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A friend's Facebook feed has a story about Virginia Tech wrestling coach Kevin Dresser.
The link leads to the story on a website focusing on Iowa wrestling.
On the top right of the page?
A small ad for Ben Carson.
Carson and his staff understand Iowa.
He'll see in the next few months how small things like this bring a big impact.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Weekly Standard finds four things very wrong with how Jeb Bush tried to attack Marco Rubio Wednesday.
The last thing highlights how the attack will help Rubio.4) On top of all of that, Bush didn’t understand that Rubio’s biggest concern at this point is being slotted as a tool of the establishment. Getting attacked by the establishment guy is the best luck Rubio could wish for. The only thing Bush accomplished is helping Rubio cross over, which will lift him in the polls, which will increase the donor pressure on Bush to drop out.

Legal Insurrection started his blog just over two weeks before I signed up on blogger.
His anniversary post reminded me to note the seventh year on the internet.
Hoping the next year finds us closer to a strong Republican era.

Three years ago, President Obama touted his ending the American presence in Iraq.
It hasn't gone well so far.
The next year might be even worse.Obama has once again proven the long-known wisdom -- of which he was ignorant, and when it was told to him, he jeered at it, because it conflicted with his "new" thinking -- that the surest way to waste men's lives in pointless warfare is to adopt a craven, cowering position and invite aggression.All hail the Eternal Failure and Bringer of Destruction, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Barack Obama.They are resorting to Orwellian double-speak to not call it combat, because, of course, Obama declared the end of combat action in Iraq, and Obama is a vain and weak man who mistakes himself for a god.

How will Donald Trump do in the debate in Boulder tonight?
The media has highlighted polls where he's dipped in Iowa.
But this debate is on CNBC.
It will be easier for Trump to attack this debate moderator as part of the biased mainstream media.
So how tough can they be on him tonight?
Attacking the debate moderator can always be a winning strategy for the Republican field.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Powerline doesn't find good news from the latest budget deal.This “spend now, promise to cut later” is the same tired trick that helped create our debt crisis. Current spending is real by definition; cuts a decade always turn out to be fictitious. No president and no Congress will ever feel bound by what their predecessors agreed to ten years earlier.The deal makes some relatively small adjustments in the area of entitlements. It raids money from the social security retirement trust fund to shore up the disability benefits program, which is running out of money. In exchange, there is a bit of positive reform of the disability program aimed at reducing fraud and such. Clearly, this deal represents a victory for President Obama and congressional Democrats. The administration is already expressing glee.

DaTech Guy runs the numbers and finds the scary ones produced by WHO less scary that the media presentation.In other words, if this study is absolutely positively spot on correct eating that hotdog every single day for your entire life raises your odds of catching colorectal cancer by nearly but not quite….1%.Or to put it another way if you’re a gamer if you eat that hotdog a day then your odds of catching colorectal cancer go from being about the odds of rolling a 1 on a D20 to about the odds of rolling a 1 on a D20.Now when you put it that way, if you told a guy that giving up bacon decreases your odds of getting cancer by less that 1% most people would decide those odds aren’t worth panicking over and would rightly consider such panic as idiotic.

Vanity Fair does the math - Donald Trump as the Republican nominee has a good shot at winning.
Even states won by Obama the last two elections.Virginia is trending blue, but could be a toss-up, particularly given the tale of Dave Brat, whose success in 2014 could be read as a harbinger of Trump. Colorado will have high Republican turnout, given that it is home to what’s likely to be one of the country’s most contested Senate races—which could make it more competitive than it should be, considering Trump’s comments about Latinos. Depending on how well Trump shows in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, they too could be in play. In two of the remaining states, Wisconsin and Nevada, any Democratic nominee will have an upper hand—particularly Clinton. But Trump will be able to effectively contest, particularly in a place like Wisconsin, with working-class white voters who elected Scott Walker three times in four years. Finally, Pennsylvania, which has been leaning ever-more blue and will likely go blue this year, will nonetheless require Clinton to spend some resources and time there—taking away from her efforts in other swing states.

It's a few days until Halloween.
This weekend, I stopped by the local Starbucks and found Pumpkin scones were done for the season.
Before the day of the season.
Never fear, Coke bottles with Santa's picture were in the local grocery.

Three undefeated teams has byes Sunday.
The Patriots and Panthers joined them at 6-0.
Next week, we have a battle of unbeaten between the Broncos and Packers on NBC.
Will you be watching?
The 1972 Miami Dolphins will be watching.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

A southern West Virginia writer finds plenty of people to blame for the state's woes.When you objectively compare the story of the Mountain State to every single one of its neighbors, you quickly realize that the greatest problem that has plagued our state is the men and women who have run our government since about… oh, let me see here… 1863. To put it simply, politicians are to be blamed for the state’s problems – all politicians, all special interests, all political organizations (including unions), all political parties have failed the modern-day residents of the thirty-fifth state.

The Star Wars trailers have looked good.
Han Solo and Chewbecca are home.
No sign of Jar Jar Binks.
But it will still be hard for Star Wars fans to be satisfied by this movie.Even if “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” turns out to be as good as “Star Wars” (I’m not calling it “A New Hope” or Episode IV, because I do not acknowledge the existence of Episodes I-III), it won’t be as good. Why? Because “Star Wars” wasn’t even as good as “Star Wars.”In 1977, “Star Wars” exploded with the force of a thousand surprisingly fragile Death Stars because nothing like it had been seen before. The pace, for a mid-’70s kid movie, was breakneck. (Carrie Fisher remembers George Lucas constantly telling the cast, “Faster, faster!”) Combining wry wit with thrilling action was all but unknown.The majestic score by John Williams, which elevated the story to a level of beauty and grace comparable to classic films, was from another galaxy compared to the competition. Recall what else was out there at the time. “The Apple Dumpling Gang.” “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.” “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger."
Less than 60 days to go.

Via Instapundit, the story of a Episcopalian leader in Washington.
A man proud of his bold stands.
Thinking he's following the lead of Jesus.
And learning the wrong lessons."Jesus was an extraordinary human being. Jesus didn’t try to convert. He just had people at his table.”
Guess he never got to the end of Matthew's gospel.
But it's true Jesus talked with people where they were.
Who he was drew all people to Him.
What the current mainstream church is doesn't draw people.
The church that tries to convert does draw people.
It's where the church growth is in the United States - and around the world.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

It was quite a day for James Madison University, despite the loss Saturday.
Record attendance at their stadium.
ESPN's College GameDay on the Quad.Lee Corso make the pick as James Madison.
Hotels so packed, Richmond's team had to stay in Staunton.
Great pictures of the campus, and a great promotion of the university to potential future students.
All thanks to a good football team.
Two weeks ago, someone whined about the cost of college football as Maryland planned to fire its coach.
Millions of dollars that could have gone to academics being spent on a contract buyout.
The whiner ignored how much money sports can bring to a university community.
Especially a good program.

West Virginia's elected officials - both Democrats and Republicans - are joining forces against the Obama team on coal.
Twenty-four states in court.
Two bills in the Senate.
A boost to keeping electricity flowing.

Jeb Bush's campaign claims to have money.
Not enough to pay people now.
But for TV ads in February and early March.
That's the strategy his consulants are following.It doesn't matter who wins Iowa and New Hampshire because on February 10th whichever loser has won is gonna need 26 million bucks and, even if he comes in twelfth, Jeb is the only one who'll have that because he has "inspired so many people to donate to us". He hasn't inspired so many people to vote for him. Indeed, given the way his numbers have cratered over the summer he may now have more donors than voters. But, as Mike Murphy sees it, it's the donors that matter.

Friday, October 23, 2015

It's been a busy week for Democratic presidential candidates.
Jim Webb dropped out.
Joe Biden decided against a bid.
Now Lincoln Chafee has given up his hopes.
Why so quickly?
It's still three months until the Iowa caucuses.
It's not like their chances are any worse today than they were in the summer when they announced their runs.
At least they get a little attention while dropping out of the race.
Next, Martin O'Malley.
Does he last until the new year?

A new form of solar power generation is trying to make its mark in Nevada - a pillar of molten salt.
Just a major performance struggle to overcome.SolarReserve finished its construction early this year and was targeting first power generation at press time in early October. Smith says that one of the biggest complexities to master is the repositioning of the mirrors—more than 1 million square meters of reflective glass—every 60 seconds to keep their beams focused on the receiver. A 20-MW demonstration-­scale plant completed in 2011 by Spanish solar thermal developer Sener Grupo de Ingeniería is running well, according to Mehos, but it must coordinate about one-sixth the number of mirrors as the new Nevada plant.
That's a lot of moving mirrors over a lot of hours, every day.

ESPN's College GameDay likes to feature the top matchup of the day for its Saturday morning show.
This week, the best game is in Harrisonburg.
The GameDay crew will do their show before the 7-0 Dukes face 5-1 Richmond, a first visit by the national show to a campus in the CAA.
The show starts at 9 a.m. with cut-ins during SportsCenter Friday and earlier Saturday.
Game time is 3:30 p.m., with coverage scheduled for Comcast-plus.
The college football weekend continues Friday when Memphis meets Tulsa at 8 p.m. on ESPN Friday, with Utah State against San Diego State at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Clemson heads to Miami Saturday at noon on ABC, with either Texas Tech-Oklahoma or Indiana against Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. The game not shown over the air will be in ESPN2.
In primetime, top-ranked Ohio State travels to Rutgers.
Alabama hosts Tennessee on CBS at 3:30 p.m., and Fox has Utah battling Southern Cal at 7:30 p.m.
Louisville battles Boston College on the ACC network at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with second-ranked Baylor facing Iowa State. Penn State and Maryland meet in Baltimore at 3:30 p.m., then Texas A&M travels to Mississippi at 7 p.m. The nightcap brings Washington-Stanford at 10:30 p.m.
Nebraska hosts Northwestern at noon on ESPN2. It's off to the ACC at 7 p.m. for Florida State facing Georgia Tech and Wyoming heads to Boise State at 10:15 p.m.Comcast has an ACC doubleheader, with North Carolina State-Wake Forest at noon followed by Virginia's trip to North Carolina. Towson takes on Villanova at 7 p.m.
Kansas State travels to Texas at noon on FoxSports1, then it's Kansas-Oklahoma State.
MASN2 has a doubleheader from C-USA, with Rice-Army at noon followed by North Texas facing Marshall. Abilene Christian takes on Incarnate Word on MASN at 3:30 p.m.NBC Sports network goes to the Ivy League for Yale-Pennsylvania Friday at 7 p.m.
Fox has Sunday's doubleheader, with the Buccaneers at the Redskins at 1 p.m. followed by Cowboys-Giants. CBS brings the Steelers and Chiefs at 1 p.m.
The Eagles head to Carolina Sunday night on NBC, with the Ravens and Cardinals battling Monday at 8:25 p.m. on ESPN.
ESPN2 has a high school contest between Paramus Catholic and IMG Academy from Florida Friday at 7 p.m.
The American League Championship Series heads back to Kansas City for Game 6 Friday at 8 p.m. on FoxSports1. Game 7, if necessary, will be Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Mets await the winner when the World Series begins Tuesday on Fox.NASCAR heads to Talladega for the weekend, with coverage of the Sprint Cup race Sunday at 2 p.m. on NBC Sports network. The Truck Series hits the track Saturday at 1 p.m. on Fox.
NBC carries the Formula One United States Grand Prix Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The Capitals continue their Canadian road trip, taking on Edmonton Friday at 9 p.m. on Comcast.
Notre Dame takes on Minnesota-Duluth Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
Chelsea takes on West Ham United Saturday at 10 a.m. on NBC Sports network, with Arsenal-Everton on NBC at 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sunderland faces Newcastle United at 7 p.m. followed by Manchester City against Manchester United. NBC carries Liverpool's contest with Southampton at noon.
D.C. United clashes with Columbus Sunday at 5 p.m. on Comcast and FoxSports1. Sporting Kansas City takes on the Galaxy Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Brazil and the United States meet in an international friendly on FoxSports1 Sunday at 3 p.m.
Illinois and Purdue tangle in women's volleyball Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

National Journal looks at why Donald Trump leads - strength among blue-collar voters.Even in a sprawl­ing field of 15 can­did­ates, Trump has opened a wide lead among Re­pub­lic­ans without a col­lege edu­ca­tion al­most every­where. Those voters, polls show, are re­cept­ive to his hard-line mes­sage on im­mig­ra­tion and to his op­pos­i­tion to free trade, and they ex­press the most ali­en­a­tion about Wash­ing­ton and the coun­try’s over­all dir­ec­tion—mak­ing them a wel­com­ing audi­ence for Trump’s broad­er anti-es­tab­lish­ment mes­sage and per­sona.
If you have book learning, you need to learn how Trump does it.

All day long, Hillary Clinton has been testifying before the House Benghazi committee.
Why after three years?
Democrats will tell you it's Republicans trying to knock Hillary down before the 2016 election.
But the day at Congress comes due to her decision in 2009 - set up her own email server.
Prior committees couldn't find the whole story - they didn't know of her separate system.
This committee found it.
She wanted secrecy.
She got greater bad publicity.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Will we finally find out Joe Biden's intentions this week?
Democrats had a debate last week, and none of the other four on the stage tried to take on Hillary.
I guess they figure that's Joe's job when he shows up.

The Falcons fell Thursday.
The Broncos needed overtime to win.
The Packers and Panthers had games go down to the last minutes before posting wins.
The Bengals and Patriots remained unbeaten as well.
Three teams are assured of staying unbeaten through next week - Bengals, Packers and Broncos all have byes.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Legal Insurrection has the latest on the squabbles between the Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio camps.Both are from Florida and both are counting on the same donors and the same support, so the competition is fierce as Florida voters’ shift from Jeb to Rubio. This gets even more dicey because Rubio was Jeb’s protégé, and apparently, Trump isn’t the only one who sees him as “disloyal” in attempting to further his own presidential ambitions in a race that many thought Jeb would win handily.Jeb's not doing too well with being behind so many other candidates - and second from his own state.

The 538 website visits with 506sports to talk about which game you'll be seeing today.
Other then their bye week, often it's the Cowboys.Between 2009 and 2014, every Nielsen market in the U.S. saw at least an average of nine of the Cowboys’ 16 games each season, by far the most in the league. Just about the only time the Cowboys aren’t dominating the airwaves is during bye weeks like this one.

A group of New Hampshire conservatives gathered Saturday, and gave Ted Cruz 72 percent of their vote.DaTech Guy was there.
So was Ted Cruz.Ted Cruz talked about his country chairmen in every county of all four early states and his donors his “sustainers” funding all on the ground game in 20 primary states, rent staff etc…I don’t think any other candidate can say this, why? Because CRUZ FIGHTS! His willingness to stand up, make the fight and take the barbs of the media for years is the reason why so many people are willing to give monthly, it’s the reason why he leads in hard money and it’s the reason why his people were willing to show up to caucus for him yesterday.

The Washington Post
tries to make a big deal about Donald Trump's business deals in the 1970s and 1980s - he must have known the mob was involved.
If only the Washington Post had watched Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School," it would have made research easier.

Friday, October 16, 2015

The latest thing that supposedly dooms Donald Trump - did you hear what he said about George W. Bush and 9/11?
He stated a fact - 9/11 happened during Bush's reign.
Like the Sandy Hook shooting happened during Obama's reign.
The question was about uniting the country after trying times.
Trump doesn't plan on bad things happening when he's in the Oval Office.
Of course, bad things will happen.
How he will deal with reality when it intrudes on his life is the question to be asking Trump.

Have you tried McDonald's breakfast at later hours?
McDonald operators aren't as thrilled as the ads seem.One franchisee called the process “erratic, distorted, disorganized direction from McDonald’s,” while another barked: “All-day breakfast is a non-starter. We are trading customers down from regular menu to lower-priced breakfast items. Not generating new traffic.”

The Cubs got there first.
The Blue Jays and Royals survived elimination games Wednesday to make it, and the Mets completed the championship series field Thursday.
One series away from the World Series.
Coverage of the American League Championship Series starts Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Fox, with Toronto in Kansas City. Game 2 will be Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.
The National League series starts at Citi Field on TBS Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with Game 2 at 7:30 p.m.
The Redskins visit the Jets Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox. The Ravens head to San Francisco in the CBS late game, after the Bengals face the Bills.
The Colts battle the Patriots Sunday night on NBC, with ESPN featuring Giants-Eagles Monday night.
The college football weekend continues Friday when Cincinnati travels to BYU at 8 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN2 offers UNLV against Fresno State at 10:30 p.m.
ABC starts Saturday with Mississippi-Memphis and Iowa taking on Northwestern at noon, with the game not shown over the air on ESPN2. Kansas State hosts Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m., and in primetime it's Penn State meeting Ohio State.
It's an SEC top 10 battle on CBS at 3:30 with Alabama visiting Texas A&M. Southern Cal and its new coaching staff head to Notre Dame on NBC at 7:30 p.m.
West Virginia battles Baylor at noon on Fox.
The ACC network offers Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN has the ACC contest between Louisville and Florida State at noon, Michigan-Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. Florida faces LSU at 7 p.m. and fourth-ranked Utah meets Arizona State at 10 p.m.
Nebraska clashes with Minnesota on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. and it's Iowa State against TCU at 7:30 p.m. The nightcap features Oregon and Washington at 10:30 p.m.
Texas Tech takes on Kansas on FoxSports1 at noon and Arizona heads to Colorado at 9 p.m.
Comcast brings Virginia's homecoming contest against Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. after New Hampshire battles William & Mary at noon.
Florida International faces Middle Tennessee on MASN2 at noon. MASN offers Sam Houston State against Abilene Christian at 3:30 p.m. and Eastern Illinois-Tennessee State at 7 p.m.
In high school football, Gonzaga and DeMatha clash on ESPN2 Friday at 7 p.m.
North of the border, Hamilton tangles with Montreal Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
NASCAR hits Kansas for the weekend, with Sprint Cup action Sunday at 1:30 p.m. on NBC. The Xfinity Series goes Saturday at 4 p.m. on NBC Sports network, after practice for both groups Friday starting at 1 p.m.
The Capitals host the Hurricanes Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
D.C. United hosts Chicago on Comcast Sunday at 2 p.m.
Houston faces Seattle on ESPN Sunday at 5 p.m. while FoxSports1 offers Portland taking on the Galaxy at 7 p.m.
Tottenham Hotspur goes against Liverpool on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7:45 a.m., followed by Everton-Manchester United. Newcastle United faces Norwich City Sunday at 11 a.m.
Preseason basketball continues on Comcast with the Wizards facing the 76ers Friday at 7 p.m.
Kansas State meets Oklahoma in women's volleyball on MASN2 Friday at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

The Democratic presidential debate could have used Donald Trump - someone to trumpet why the others aren't as smart as they are.
Roger L. Simon wonders if Republican infighting will make next year harder.The “evil party” didn’t spend much of the evening tearing each other down. Quite the contrary. With the most minor exceptions, they provided a cheering section for each other.If Republicans continue their approach in their next debate, bashing each other at will and in extremis, they are likely going to lose in November 2016 and then we all lose. The country loses, maybe even disappears as we know it. Republicans aren’t the “stupid party” for nothing — and that includes the Tea Party and RINOS, both equally dopey, not to mention Kevin McCarthy who may have made the greatest unforced political error of the no-longer-young century. Republicans should focus like the proverbial lasers on the opposition, not each other. Fiorina and Rubio have both showed how to do this on different occasions.
Megan McArdle sees a missed opportunity to ready Hillary for the fall of 2016.Can Clinton survive a race against a more gifted campaigner, in a nation with considerably more conservatives than New York has? Now would be a good time for Democrats to find that out. At least Democrats could see how she performs under pressure from politicians who are out for blood. Instead they mostly treated her like a delicate aunt whose ears must be protected from harsh words.

The poorly supported Democratic men had a chance to make a mark in Tuesday's debate.
They could have challenged Hillary Clinton on her emails.
They didn't.The Democratic men need to throw some sharp elbows to prove they are actually running for president, and not simply competing for lesser cabinet posts in the Hillary Clinton White House.
You can't disappear if not one knew you were there in the first place.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Politico brings the Hillary Clinton email crisis up to date from its start in March.
Months of advisors telling Hillary to come clean.
Months of Hillary fighting the advise.
Months of dropping poll numbers.
Finally dragging half-hearted and unbelieved apologies out.
And wondering why it didn't end the problem.On September 4, she told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell she was “sorry” that people were bewildered by the controversy. No one was satisfied by her answer—especially the press—and even Benenson, who had counseled Clinton to eschew a full apology, was now convinced she needed to go all the way to quell the uproar. Meanwhile, polls released a few days before continued to show her overall disapproval rating sat at around 53 percent, as high as it had been during her bruising, losing 2008 campaign.During the first weekend of September, Clinton, at home at her mansion in Chappaqua, dialed into another series of tense conference calls—finally agreeing to offer what amounted to acceptance of responsibility and a tempered, but unmistakable, apology. Saying “sorry” had always been a problem: She viewed backtracking as a sign of weakness, and in 2008 had repeatedly balked when confronted with past mistakes or misstatements, whether on voting yes for the Iraq war or overstating the risk of a trip she took as first lady to Bosnia. But this time she would give in, even if she told people in her orbit that she believed it to be a meaningless Washington pound-of-flesh ritual aimed at stopping the media feeding frenzy. On September 8, she did it. “That was a mistake,” she told ABC’s David Muir when asked the same email question she had stiff-armed dozens of times. “I’m sorry about that.”If the Hillary team thinks they will put this in the past, I say sorry.It's not going to happen.

Don Surber tells the tale of L.L. Bean.
Even though his first hunting shoes had technical errors.Eventually, L.L. went to work for his older brother, Otho, at a dry goods store in Freeport, Maine. L.L. had a pretty good life. The job paid $12 a week, but he hunted and fished. It was on his return from a hunt in 1911 that he came up with his idea for a hunting boot. He did everything right, except his vendor -- a shoe cobbler -- failed to stitch the leather to the rubber properly. After paying all those refunds and eating the shipping charges -- L.L. never charged for shipping -- he borrowed $400 from the bank and had U.S. Rubber Company make his boots. The first thing he did was ship 90 pair to the customers who had demanded refunds. Not only did they get refunds but replacements as well.

Certain unions have seen their membership drop since a Supreme Court ruling last year.Local 925's membership, mainly state-subsidized family child care providers, fell from 6,600 in June 2014 to 3,700 in May 2015, according to Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services. That followed the court's ruling in Harris v. Quinn that Illinois state-subsidized in-home caregivers for the disabled were not public-sector employees and therefore not eligible for collective bargaining.
Union leaders aren't worried.
They think those members are going to sign up - later.
They'll pay you next Tuesday - for sure.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Okay, people pushing gun control.
If you got your background checks for gun purchases, how do you stop someone from stealing a gun?
Using it to kill the boyfriend of an ex-wife?Houck’s criminal record would have prevented him from legally purchasing or possessing a firearm. In Virginia, people convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, drug abusers and those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual battery are among those who are not allowed to possess firearms.
Laws are good.
His dad worked on many in the Virginia legislature.
But someone who will break the law to get a gun won't be stopped by whatever idea you throw up there.

Celebrating Columbus can draw ire today - look at all the bad things his voyage brought to North America.
Instapundit reminds us of the good - which spelled the doom for slave-based power.
It took time, but the nature of power changed.In 1790 coerced labor was universal and unremarkable, as it had been for millenia. By 1890 it had largely been abolished.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

All five unbeaten teams remained perfect this week.
The Falcons and Bengals need overtime to stay 5-0, while the Patriots, Packers and Broncos won easily.
The Panthers stayed 4-0 during their bye week.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

Hillary Clinton wants everyone to remember she's a woman.
Her opponents want everyone to remember something else she was born with - her character.Hillary has been a shady dealmaker for almost as long as she has been a woman, and the one persona has sunk in a lot more deeply than the other.
There's lots of women in the world.
How about electing an honest one?

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Democrats hold their first presidential debate Tuesday.
All year long, Hillary Clinton has proclaimed her strong position atop the field.
That position appears to be slipping.From October 4 to October 9, Clinton saw her support tumble from 51 percent of Democratic support to just 41 percent.

Her nearest competitors, Vermont Senator Sanders and Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden, who has yet to decide whether he will run, both made gains. Support for Sanders jumped from just over 24 percent to 28 percent, and Biden rose from 16 percent to a even 20 percent in the same time period.

If she has a poor performance Tuesday, will Democrats keep believing she's their leader?

Friday, October 9, 2015

Via Althouse, news that federal prisons are removing pork products from the menu.
Because surveys of prisoners say pork is the least favorite meat.
No bacon?Prisoners don't like bacon?! That's about the most ludicrously unbelievable thing I've ever heard the government say.

When Donald Trump moved to the top of polls in August, supporters of other candidate reminded everyone it was early.
Most people weren't paying attention.
Now it's October.
Trump still leads.
Even if his opponents amplify small dips in his polling.As Bloomberg’s John Heilemann said on “Morning Joe,” if Jeb Bush had Mr. Trump’s numbers everyone would declare the race over.
What is next?

I called Georgetown County, South Carolina home for three years.
It's been a rough week of flooding, with more water coming down from the interior.
The local newspaper has kept residents, and the rest of the world, up to date.

Back to the Future II told us the Cubs won the 2015 World Series.
It's still possible.
The Cubs and Astros won the wild card playoff games on the road this week, joining the division champs on the road to the World Series.
Friday's action begins at 12:30 p.m. on MLB network with the Rangers-Blue Jays, then Game 2 from Kansas City at 3:30 p.m. National League action gets underway on TBS at 6:30 p.m. with the Cardinals facing Cubs, with Dodgers-Mets at 9:30 p.m.
It's Game 2 from St. Louis Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Dodgers host the Mets at 9:30 p.m.
Play resumes in the American League Sunday as the Astros host the Royals at 4 p.m. on MLB network and the Rangers battle the Blue Jays at 8 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Divisional round plays continues throughout the week.
The Ravens host the Browns on CBS Sunday at 1 p.m., with Patriots-Cowboys as the main late afternoon contest. The Redskins tackle the Falcons on Fox Sunday at 1 p.m.
NBC carries the 49ers and Giants Sunday night, with the Steelers' trip to San Diego on ESPN Monday night.
The college football weekend continues Friday as Virginia Tech takes on North Carolina State at 8 p.m.
Struggling Texas meets Oklahoma in their annual brawl at noon on ABC Saturday. It's Georgia Tech-Clemson or Wisconsin against Nebraska at 3:30 p.m., with one game on ABC and the other on ESPN2. In primetime, Florida State faces Miami.
Virginia faces Pittsburgh in the ACC game of the week at 12:30 p.m.
Navy takes on Notre Dame on NBC at 3:30 p.m. while CBS offers Georgia-Tennessee at 3:30 p.m.
Fox brings TCU against Kansas State at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with LSU taking on South Carolina, with Minnesota-Purdue at 3:30 p.m. Alabama tangles with Arkansas at 7 p.m., followed by California-Utah.
Penn State battles Indiana on ESPN2 at noon. West Virginia takes on Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. with Wyoming-Air Force in the nightcap.
FoxSports1 offers Kansas-Baylor at noon and it's Arizona taking on Oregon State at 4 p.m.
Middle Tennessee takes on Western Kentucky at noon on MASN2, followed by Iowa State-Texas Tech. MASN shows Tennessee State against UT-Martin.
Comcast has CAA action, with William & Mary-Villanova at noon followed by James Madison meeting Towson at 3 p.m.
NASCAR races under the lights in Charlotte Saturday at 7 p.m. on NBC. The Xfinity Series takes the track Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
NBC Sports network has the Russian Grand Prix Sunday at 6:30 a.m., with qualifying Saturday at 8 a.m.
The Capitals open their season Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Devils on Comcast.
Comcast has preseason NBA basketball Friday, with the Knicks taking on the Wizards at 7 p.m.
The United States faces Mexico on FoxSports1 Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
There's Euro 2016 qualifying this weekend, with Spain against Luxembourg on ESPN2 Friday at 2:30 p.m. Ireland meets Poland Sunday at 2:30 p.m.. on ESPN.
Minnesota and Indiana split the first two games of their WNBA final, with Game 3 Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 and Game 4 Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Are you ready for Hillary and friends to have their first Democratic Party presidential debate?
It's Tuesday.
Only two hours instead of three, since there are fewer candidates.
Probably two hours more than most voters can stand watching and listening to Hillary.

Cass Sunstein is upset at how the NRA has helped change the meaning of the Second Amendment.
Why?
Liberals talk about a living constitution, changing with the times.
What's wrong with the Second Amendment changing?
Right.
If it's changing in a way that you don't like, you cite prior law.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The left hates the TPP - Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Hillary Clinton came out against it today - after working for years on the agreement details while Secretary of State.
The country may need good trade agreements and international relations, but Hillary wants leftist votes.

DaTech Guy picks up on Marco Rubio's defense of his youth - experience doesn't matter if you're pushing the wrong ideas.
Someone experienced like Joe Biden.Joe Biden was elected to the US Senate in 1972 during the Nixon Landslide and in those nearly 50 years he has been fighting for the same failed liberal policies that the Obama administration is pushing today. Higher taxes , more spending. Bigger government getting involved in local issues from Education to what a local baker can bake or not. And on foreign policy again it’s the same from Defeat in Vietnam to Defeat in Iraq & Syria, From obstructing Reagan opposing the Communists in Russia & South America downplaying their threat to Retreating from Russia & Islamist and enabling the Communists in Cuba today and downplaying the Islamic threat.

It's October.
The New Hampshire primary is in February.
Does Donald Trump's failure to be running TV ads now matter to his campaign?
I doubt it.
This far out, you use TV ads to introduce yourself to the voters.
Trump doesn't need an introduction.
They talk about TV ads changing viewpoints.
So ads in January can change minds toward Trump.
What do ads to at this point in the cycle?
Keep newspapers and TV stations afloat.
Nothing Trump has done has been by the campaign book. Why should TV ads be any different?

Instead of droning on about ideas that will never pass muster, Powerline offers some common sense items to deal with gun violence.The federal government should pass a law that makes it illegal for any public place to be a “gun-free zone.” Recent mass shooting incidents have always taken place in “gun-free” zones. Many years ago, my father used to tell a joke the punch line of which was, “I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.” The criminally insane are plenty smart enough to understand that a “gun-free zone” means easy pickings. Abolishing gun-free zones wouldn’t completely eliminate mass shootings, but it would help. While I haven’t researched the issue, I assume that such legislation would be constitutional as an act in furtherance of the Second Amendment. Such a law would confer a federal right on any licensed citizen to carry a firearm in any public place, any state law or private posting to the contrary notwithstanding.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Trying to excite the left wing of the Democratic party, Hillary Clinton plans to bypass Congress to put through her vision of gun control.
She forgets the reasons why people want to be able to get guns.

They want control.

They don't trust the existing system.

They think they are smart enough to do it, despite the warnings.

Sounds like the reasons Hillary used her own email server while at the State Department.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Six teams tried to advance to 4-0 Sunday.
Five did.
Sorry, Cardinals.
The Panthers will remain 4-0 after next week's bye.
No matchups of unbeaten teams next week.
But the 1972 Miami Dolphins are watching.

I recycle aluminum cans - I get money back for my effort.
Other recycling efforts - only do if I have to.
Because beyond cans and cardboard, not much recycling has a cost-benefit.

According to the E.P.A.’s estimates, virtually all the greenhouse benefits — more than 90 percent — come from just a few materials: paper, cardboard and metals like the aluminum in soda cans. That’s because recycling one ton of metal or paper saves about three tons of carbon dioxide, a much bigger payoff than the other materials analyzed by the E.P.A. Recycling one ton of plastic saves only slightly more than one ton of carbon dioxide. A ton of food saves a little less than a ton. For glass, you have to recycle three tons in order to get about one ton of greenhouse benefits. Worst of all is yard waste: it takes 20 tons of it to save a single ton of carbon dioxide.

Once you exclude paper products and metals, the total annual savings in the United States from recycling everything else in municipal trash — plastics, glass, food, yard trimmings, textiles, rubber, leather — is only two-tenths of 1 percent of America’s carbon footprint.

Bon Jovi did its first concert in Israel Saturday.
Powerline is impressed.
Most music acts don't perform in Israel. Bon Jovi was ready to go.The singer explained he’s most excited to visit the metropolitan city for its “vibrant and dynamic” culture and “great restaurants.” He and the band will reportedly spend more time than just the day of their concert in Tel Aviv. “There are a few places in the world that I haven’t been, Israel is one of them,” he said. “So I’m thrilled to be coming. We want to stay for a few days and see as much as possible.”

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The lawyers from Pokémon "gotta catch 'em all" - all the money from a Seattle man who wanted to celebrate a gaming event.
He cancelled the event, but Pokémon lawyers still want the money.Meowth must be behind this.

Kim Davis and her team let the world know she met the Pope.
The Vatican admitted it happened.
Angry voices exploded.
The Vatican tried to calm the waters.Look at the words emphasized, each of them were carefully chosen to allow one group of people to have a particular interpretation of the meeting between Kim Davis and the Pope while still allowing a different group of people to hold a completely opposite interpretation of that exact same event.
The complainers need to understand one simple point.
Kim Davis met the Pope.
You didn't.

Friday, October 2, 2015

A lengthy post about the five reasons that benefits of guns outweigh the risks boils down to a simple paragraph.Guns kill . . . and that’s a good thing. By doing so, they serve as a bulwark protecting individual citizens from predatory people and governments. That’s why individual citizens must be stalwart in their defense of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, resisting all government efforts to grab their guns, something that would leave them vulnerable, not only to bad guys and jihadists, but to the government itself.

Legal Insurrection deals with the liberal litany - we must do something.What?
Don't know.
But something.Halperin began by saying he wanted to, “engage Cooke in a civil way.” The then went on to talk about the media should be passionately trying to come up with solutions. “I completely agree with the president. People need to find solutions to this and not talk about what won’t work and that’s it’s so complicated. We can’t be the only country in the world that’s like this,” Halperin said.“With respect, what’s your plan?” asked Cooke.And that’s when Halperin stepped in it. Halperin had no ideas, no solutions, no plan, though that didn’t seem to deter him from preaching at Cooke that the real solution lies in our ability to… have more solutions? Halperin only slightly walked it back by declaring himself “not an expert in the field.”

The NFL has been playing games in London for several years.
Last year, they experimented with starting a game mid-morning on the East Coast.
They liked it, and will do it again Sunday.
The Jets and Dolphins battle from London's Wembley Stadium at 9:30 a.m. CBS has the coverage, and the teams will be able to get home before nightfall.
Fox will offer the Eagles and Redskins at 1 p.m.- weather permitting - with Packers-49ers in the late afternoon slot. CBS in Harrisonburg will show the Chiefs against Bengals at 1 p.m. The day of football closes on NBC when the Cowboys take on the Saints.
The Lions visit Seattle on ESPN Monday night.
The college football weekend continues Friday with two games on ESPN2 - Memphis meets South Florida at 7 p.m., followed by Connecticut-BYU.
Texas takes on TCU Saturday at noon on ABC, followed by either Texas Tech-Baylor or top-ranked Ohio State facing Indiana. The game not shown over the air will be on ESPN2.
In primetime, ABC offers Notre Dame's trip to Clemson.
Georgia and Alabama battle between the hedges on CBS at 3:30 p.m. while Arizona State goes against UCLA on Fox at 7:30 p.m.
Louisville and North Carolina State tangle in the ACC game of the week at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN starts its day at noon with Iowa-Wisconsin, then it's off to the ACC for Florida State dueling with the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Florida faces Mississippi at 7 p.m. and it's Oregon meeting Colorado at 10 p.m.
Michigan State meets Purdue on ESPN2 at noon. It's Arkansas-Tennessee at 7 p.m. and the nightcap brings Hawaii taking on Boise State.
West Virginia travels to Oklahoma on FoxSports1 at noon, then it's Kansas State taking on Oklahoma State at 4 p.m.
Comcast has a pair of ACC contests, with Pittsburgh-Virginia Tech at noon followed by Boston College battling Duke.
Columbia plays Princeton on NBC Sports network Friday at 7 p.m. and William & Mary faces Delaware Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The Rangers and Angels duel for the AL West title this weekend, with games Friday on ESPN, Saturday on Fox and Sunday on TBS. Fox also offers Royals-Twins Saturday afternoon.
The Orioles close out the regular season with a weekend series with the Yankees on MASN - weather permitting. The Nationals take on the division champion Mets on MASN2 for the final three games of the season.
Four drivers will have their hopes for a championship end this weekend, as the Sprint Cup series visits Dover - if the monster storm leaves the Monster Mile unscathed. The Truck Series runs in Las Vegas Saturday at 10 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Crystal Palace takes on West Bromwich Albion Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network. Everton faces Liverpool Sunday at 8:30 p.m. followed by Arsenal-Manchester United.
ESPN2 offers Dallas-Houston Sunday at 5 p.m., then FoxSports1 has a pair of contests - Real Salt Lake against Colorado at 7 p.m. and the Galaxy at Seattle at 9:30 p.m.
Minnesota hosts Indiana in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals Sunday at 3 p.m. on ABC.
The Capitals face the Bruins in preseason play Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast, and the Islanders come to town Sunday at 5 p.m.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Happy October.
If you have insurance through Obamacare, time to find out how much more you will pay in 2016.
Almost time for the Cadillac tax to take effect.
The tax that would fund the increased coverage.
Except Hillary Clinton may need to crash the Cadillac.Hillary Clinton will speak out against the so-called Cadillac tax on high-coverage health care plans, as early as this week, according to The New York Times. The politics on this are complicated, and not entirely focused on health care; in fact, this has more to do with the health of Clinton’s struggling and scandal-plagued campaign. Even so, the Cadillac tax on high-coverage plans is a key to Obamacare, both fiscally and philosophically, and Clinton’s coming attack on it shows just how much of an albatross the entire system has become for her party.

Powerline highlights the best lines from Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United Nations.Quotable quote (3): “I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but the nation-state of a people nearly 4,000 years old. Yet the empires of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the Thousand Year Reich. Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone. But Israel lives. The people of Israel live.”

DaTech Guy gathers all the anger and frustration on the left - over the thought Pope Francis would meet with Kim Davis.Today even the local reporter talking about this looked like someone was peeing on their cornflakes.